Of Coal and Fire
by TheWordPhoenix
Summary: After the Sports festival, Uraraka comes to some realisations about Bakugou.


OF COAL AND FIRE

Ochako has to do this. She's standing opposite Bakugou, the sun scowling down on them both. His eyes flick to her and then he looks away, disinterested. She feels resolve trickling down her arms, gripping like iron on her legs and calves. _Breathe in. You have to do this._

A whip snaps through the air, and Ochako surges forward. She's fighting, pulling each foot forward one after another, one arm outstretched towards the blonde boy, blood pounding through her veins.

The sound of the explosion sends a hail of debris flying around her, and it shatters her eardrums. Her balance is off, and she's on the ground. But she pulls herself up, she's taken worse beatings, yet she can feel the audience rustling in discontent. They don't see HER, only a cruel boy and a frail girl.

Ochako spits the blood out of her mouth and starts running.

-xoxox-

The thump shudders through the wall and Ochako grits her teeth. She had lost. She had desperately fought, pulling out the riskiest of plans, and she had lost. He'd given her a chance though, and it's endless opportunity which frustrates her and makes her grin at the same time.

She's never been angrier, and so she punches the wall again with renewed vigour, tiredness forgotten. The boos of the crowd sting more than the explosions ever did.

They're gone now, sucked away by Shuuzenji sensei's quirk, and the spite still stays within her, bubbling up inside her no matter how much she tries to push it down. Yet... yet she still remembers Bakugou's voice in her ears in her half-conscious state.

_Nothing fragile about her. _

She lets out a small pleased chuckle, before her hand drifts towards her phone in her jacket pocket. She stops then, clenching her fist. She's not ready yet. She needs to get her emotions in order.

A sense of being seen, a sense of receiving respect washes over her and finally... oh finally! She is not fucking soft goddammit. She's crawled through literal sewers to get where she has now. She doesn't need to be treated like some porcelain doll. Her friends- Deku and Iida, they didn't _know. _Deku treated her like a different person altogether, almost as if she were sunshine stitched together, while Iida... Iida was born in a different world.

They wouldn't understand this all consuming need to somehow make everything better, a desperate race against time to save her parents and herself.

But... her eyebrows quirk up and she's smiling stupidly at the blank wall. What an unexpected place this recognition had come from. The boy she'd only seen as a bully, loud and brash and cruel and- someone she'd subconsciously marked as a threat. _Maybe_ she wasn't the only one not being seen.

Then the door thuds open and she turns around with words, unspoken and unripe on her lips. It's only Deku, Iida's hulking figure behind him. Her mouth tears apart into a smile.

xoxo

The sports festival is over, and Bakugou has won, in his own way. She somehow feels glad that he has won, it's a testament to her own strength, and she juts her chin out as she walks down the corridor.

It wasn't really a graceful win, and Bakugou wasn't allowed to refuse. Fuck, that's really not fair, is it? Couldn't win on his own terms.

She turns the corner to see a spew of angry curses streaming from Bakugou's mouth as he stands over a trembling Deku. Her eyes widen and despite herself, she pulls herself back around the corner, leaning against the wall and clamping her hand over her giggling mouth.

It's the usual abuse, apart from a hint of frustration on Bakugou's part. She can feel the frustration, she can feel it sparking in his palms, feel it in the hitch of his throat. She feels it on herself- the frustration of not getting a good fight, of being underestimated, the feeling of an opponent not fighting you at their full power. Bakugou was fair to her, and Todoroki wasn't fair to him.

And so Ochako listens as the stream of curse words deteriorate into more and more unoriginal nicknames, and she has to stifle a smile.

She walks casually around the corner, secretly enjoying the way the noise grinds to an abrupt halt. Deku turns to look at her with his too wide eyes, and she grabs him by the arm.

"Come on," she whispers. "Leave him to himself." Deku nods numbly, following her. Ochako casts a look behind and sees Bakugou staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. It's so strange to look at, like he's forgotten to rearrange his features into his default expression of rage. Crimson eyes meet her own, and Ochako fights the urge to look away, lifting her chin defiantly without breaking eye contact. He stares at her for a split second, eyes boring into her soul., and then the connection is broken, and the ash blonde has lowered his gaze, mumbling something under his breath.

Ochako turns and walks away.

xoxo

"Oh for fuck's sake, _come on!" _Ochako hisses under her breath as she jabbed her ticket at the sensor for what seemed like the hundredth time. She really _would_ get late for the train. The doors slide open and she's running for the train, panting as she stumbles into it just as it leaves the platform.

The train's heaving with commuters, most of them flicking through shining smartphones with boredom apparent in their eyes. She grabs a handle to steady herself and then taps her foot impatiently, thumbing her small flip phone in her jacket pocket. Cheesy ads play loudly from the overhead speakers as the train whizzes past stations. Finally, it pulls into the station next to her small lodge. Ochako runs out, earning looks from passing commuters, but she doesn't care. She never really has time to think about how she conducts herself.

She's already past the checkout when she sees familiar blonde hair. He's on the side, near the cycle stand. Ochako has to fight through a crowd of onlookers to get through, and she sees Bakugou trembling, rage visible in the way his shoulders go up and down, as if he's trying to calm himself down. His lips are pursed tighter than Ochako's ever seen, struggling to not let any words out. Security guards lurk near the crowd, eyeing him warily.

What's really drawing attention is the man screaming at Bakugou. Ochako registers old, balding, and she sees thick patchy eyebrows next to bulging eyes, all before she really hears what's coming out of his mouth.

"You call yourself a hero, young man? You should see the way you conduct yourself!" The man shakes his head. "In my time, heroes were humble and they most certainly didn't beat up young girls like that!" The crowd is mostly assenting, and Ochako feels a familiar boiling beneath her skin when the man turns around to face his audience. "Behold, my friends, a young villain!" There are catcalls, jeers, hoots, and Ochako sees Bakugou's trembling lip, and she sees red.

The man's turning around, beginning the next part of his monologue when Ochako punches him in the jaw. Her fist connects with a satisfying thunk, but Ochako barely has any time to revel in her victory before the uproar begins.

That split second it takes for the crowd to come to a realization, that second where they rustle and groan. "Hey, isn't that-?"

"Somebody call the cops."

And there's shouting and screaming and Ochako can hear the sounds of boots against the pavement, and then her instincts kick in. She grabs Bakugou's arm. "Run." The boy looks at her in confusion, but Ochako doesn't give him time to think- there isn't time, and she pulls him with her and through the crowd.

They move through writhing bodies, and she feels fingernails tear at her flesh, but she doesn't stop- doesn't want to stop- because this is what euphoria feels like. They free themselves of the crowd and she pulls him into a run.

And so they run, Ochako ducking into smaller and smaller alleyways, Bakugou close behind her with panting breaths. She's not very fast, but she's nimble and she skips over the sewers, the gaping manholes, ducks under long streamers and around the streetside vendors.

Ochako comes to a stop at a dead end, and she stares up at the brick wall before collapsing onto her knees laughing. It's been a while since she's had so much fun.

"Okay, Uraraka, what the fuck?"

Ochako turns at the voice and sees Bakugou leaning on the wall next to her, huffing exhausted breaths, sweat glistening down his arms. He's not looking at her, so she allows a small smile to play upon her face before replying.

"The cops were after us," she says, and Bakugou turns to face her with incredulity.

"You can't just do that... that's against the law. And they'll make you out to be some shitty villain as well-"

"Heck if I care." Ochako gets up, brushing off the dust from her pants.

"Well, then fucking fine Round Face. You can rot in a cell for all I care."

Ochako starts giggling.

-xoxox-

"I want a rematch."

Ochako looks at the hand slammed onto the table in front of her mochi, and then her eyes move their way up to the scowling boy above her.

"Uh," she says intelligently.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I wanted a damn rematch," Bakugou demands again.

"...But you won?"

"Don't shit me. I mean a quirkless fight. Let's see who does better, huh Uraraka?"

Ochako looks around at the babbling cafeteria, at Deku and Iida who are looking at the exchange with wide eyes.

"Uh... Kacchan?" Deku asks timidly.

"Keep your mouth shut, Deku!" Bakugou roars before turning back to Ochako, strange earnestness visible in his eyes.

Ochako wants it. She shouldn't, shouldn't wake up every night with her muscles aching for a fight, shouldn't need it like a drug but-

"Sure."

Ochako doesn't know what comes over her when she meets Bakugou in the dojo later that day. Doesn't know what comes over her when they fly at each other, without any style, without any practice, just an imperfect brutality. But she keeps going back, to the same dojo, every day, every day, until it becomes routine. It feels so good to fight. There are no words, no meaningless actions. It's just her blood pounding in her ears, and an opponent and purpose. It feels so good not to hold back, not to have the other hold back either. It's all dirty moves, tactics she could never use in the hero course. It feels so good.

Until... until he gets kidnapped.

Ochako doesn't know why she doesn't go with the rest of them.

-xoxox -

It's hard facing Bakugou when they're shown the dorms the next day. She doesn't talk to him, although she feels his eyes boring into her back every single second. She feels so guilty, she shouldn't feel guilty, but she does, she feels like all the shit that's happened is her fault.

_Why didn't you come? _The hidden eyes ask behind her. _I thought we had something, some bond. _Why didn't she come?

She locks herself in her room and rubs her eyes furiously. They're red, itchy, and she doesn't know why. She's examining them closely in the mirror when there's a knock on the door. She jolts, splashing her eyes with water and rushing to answer.

Of course, it has to be Bakugou.

"Oy, Uraraka. Let's go fight." Bakugou gestures behind him with a thumb. Ochako feels nauseous and glad all at once. Her mouth opens.

"N- now?"

"Yes, now! Come on." Bakugou pulls her arm, and this time it's him leading her down staircases and out into the chilly night air. They're at some lawn next to the dorms, where the lights flicker on and off almost eerily.

Bakugou looks at her and then seems to realise his hand is still on her arm. He jumps away as if he's been shocked.

"Alright, fight now, won't you?" Bakugou yells out, almost screaming.

Ochako nods numbly, going to stand opposite him and taking up her stance.

When their punches meet again, Ochako feels like a failure. She feels regret welling up inside her. _I'm sorry. _Every punch and kick feels like an apology, each collision, another sorry. She didn't do her best. She couldn't do her best. Where she was supposed to be strong, she failed. It's a matter of moments before she's lying on the ground, Bakugou atop her. She doesn't realise that he's saying something before he grips her arms.

"-stop. Why aren't you taking this seriously?" His voice filters through, and Ochako blinks.

She should tell him, and so she braces herself. "I'm sorry."

"For fucking what?"

"I didn't come to Kamino to save you- we're friends, even Iida and Deku came- I'm-"

"Don't say that." Bakugou cuts through. "Like that nerd, always apologizing for no reason. There's no reason for you to be sorry, get it through your dumbass brain."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said it's fine, can we fight now?" Bakugou says impatiently.

"Yeah, uh yeah." Ochako gets to her feet, feeling a familiar resolve speed through her arms.

"And wipe your fucking face."

Ochako reaches a hand up to her face in surprise, brushing away the shimmering wetness that threatened to spill over her eyelids, before crouching into a fighting stance.

And then both of them are moving towards each other, and Bakugou is looking at her with that expression on his face, and she's staring at him too with a hard blazing look, and she doesn't know which of them lean in first.

Their lips crash together and something inside Ochako feels right. This feels feverish, a nervous passion, and it tastes like sweat and oxygen and matted hair all mixing in, and she can hear his throat hitching, it tastes electric and Ochako finds herself chasing after that feeling, but too soon they're breaking apart and Ochako doesn't know what to feel about the fact that she just had her first kiss, she can just feel her heart thumping in her chest and Bakugou's breath on her shoulder, and her hands tousling in that impossibly soft hair, his hands- his hands fisted in her workout clothes.

She does what she's always done. She runs. She hears Bakugou calling after her, but she ignores it, running into the dorms.

She can't begin to imagine what she looks like- hair a mess, eyes red, pink cheeks. She collapses onto the bed and the door thuds behind her.

She stares at the ceiling fan before letting out a small sigh. _Oh fuck. _

_xoxox_

She's never felt more embarrassed. She's hiding behind Deku the whole day in class, avoiding looking at Bakugou except in small glances, all too suddenly remembering the events of last night, and coughing furiously to hide the faint blush colouring her cheeks. She kicks at the table in front of her for what seems like the fifth time. Last night seems like a dream, and she can't stop thinking about it. It's unreal and it makes her feel drunk and giddy.

That is, until he locks eyes with her. She looks away as quick as she can, but it's not fast enough, he's already caught her looking. Ochako can't read the expression on his face, and yet she feels like nothing will ever be the same. Their tentative friendship broken apart. She can't help worrying because- she doesn't want to lose Bakugou. Admitting it to herself makes a small sigh escape her chest.

She's broken out of her reverie by Aizawa Sensei's droll voice. "And Bakugou and Uraraka. Those are the pairs for quirkless fighting. Meet me in Gym Gamma in your sports uniform."

Ochako's quivering by the time she reaches the gym. A mixture of fear and excitement washes over her as she watches the other fights go by. She sees Sero absolutely trash Mineta. Ojiro beating Todoroki for once with ease. She doesn't understand how quickly time passes until they're both standing opposite each other. She looks up, staring into Bakugou's eyes with grim determination etched into her face. And somehow she understands what he's telling her.

_Come on, Uraraka. _

She sees the small smirk playing on his face and mirrors it. _Let's fight, Bakugou. _She crouches, snarling.

And as they both dive at each other, Ochako realises she needn't have worried at all.


End file.
